


Tony Stark’s mistake

by Gayasthe4thofjuly



Category: Avengers, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel Universe - Fandom
Genre: Actually the attempt is so much tamer than I expected lmao, Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, I’m just posting because this has been in my head for the longest of times, Out of Character, Self Insert, Suicide Attempt, but i've marked as mature because it's gonna get dark esp with the mention of suicide, everyones an ass, its super angsty, kinda i guess, like give the first chapter a chance but honestly like it’s so angst and everyone’s mean, like super terrible all the time, no happy ending, there's no sexual content, this is like my daydream fantasy I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-08-19 01:43:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20201686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gayasthe4thofjuly/pseuds/Gayasthe4thofjuly
Summary: Tony Stark is unbelievable, yet again. Despite the horror that was Ultron, he’s gone ahead and created another being.He promises this one is different - not attached to the internet, not virtually indestructible, and will be preloaded with a personality and memories.By the time she “wakes up”, the Avengers are already against her, and Tony is bitter from the strain it’s put on his relationships. She shouldn’t exist, and allowing her to be created was a mistake.Despite their demands, she’s alive, and here.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that’s just been in my head for the longest of times, like before Infinity Wars, and even as the movies came out, the story was slowly evolving and dismissing canon lmao.  
Anyway, I don’t know if anyone will be interested in this. It’s extremely angsty, the characters re probably really OOC, but I couldn’t let this just fester in a couple of different variants in my mind, I had to just get it out.  
I came up with this originally when I was single, and feeling really alone. I was only reading angst, and I think this originally started as something to think about and kinda cry lmao idk.  
I know this is probably mute and will be ignored, but it’s so important to look after your mental health, and looking back, I regret not looking after myself. Angst felt like the only thing that I could read that would make me feel, and happy, romantic stuff felt fake. If you need to talk to someone, please do.  
Anyway, enjoy.

Standing in front of the chamber, Tony looked down at his creation. It was working, and slowly coming together. He turned to the computer that was creating her personality and memories.

There had been a minor power outage last night, and the impacts on her designed personality was unclear as of yet.

She would be a strong, confident person. A perfect fit for the team, but not a potential threat, exactly what the team needed.

_’I have to tell them,’ _he thought. _‘Steve’s gonna be pissed...’_

His creation was barely a person yet, but he saw a bright future ahead for her.

* * *

Steve Rogers scoffed.

”You saw what happened with Ultron, how it ruined your relationships, and killed so many people, and went, ‘Yeah, I’ll give it another crack’?”

”No, this is different, she’s different,” Tony said, before turning to the rest of the Avengers. They sat on the couch in the penthouse of the Avengers Tower, frowning at him. “I learnt my lesson, and I worked around the issues from last time.”

”My brother is dead because of you’re creation,” Wanda said. “If you think I will allow you to create another monster, you’re out of your mind.”

”So dramatic. She’s not a monster, and she won’t be a monster. Look, I’ve thought of everything, she’s different.”

Natasha stood up. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

She walked away, and the other Avengers started to leave as well.

”It’ll be fine, you’re all too dramatic,” Tony said, watching them leave.

’_God, I hope everything’s fine.’_

* * *

It has been six months since Tony told the team about his project.

It had also been six months since the team had been civil to him.

And it had been four months since Tony turned the lights off in the project room and let the dust fall where it may.

Maybe it would be a monster. Maybe his safety protocols would fail and there’d be another Ultron level situation.

Maybe he should just pull the plug on the whole thing...

But he let it manifest as it may. If it worked, it worked. If the experiment failed and a person failed to manifest, then so be it, but Tony wouldn’t be involved, and whatever happened to it wouldn’t be his fault. At least, that’s what he told himself.

Six months turned to eight turned to twelve turned to twenty, and the experiment was complete.

It had been eighteen months since Tony last checked on his experiment when her eyes opened.


	2. It’s Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her eyes open for the first time, but no ones there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This bit was always a part I skipped over and just kinda kept going, so it was a bit of going, “ok, and then what?” so I apologise if it’s not very clear.

I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of times. It was dark. Had I woken in the middle of the night again?

As I reached for my phone, my hand hit something. Too close to be my bedside table, too hard to be a pillow.

Rolling onto my side, my hip hit something above me, and I fell onto my back.

The blood drained from my face. Nothing should be above me, let alone something hard to push me back.

That’s when I realised there wasn’t a blanket over me. My bed wasn’t the usual softness. It felt like I was wearing a long dress with sleeves, like nothing I owned.

Where was I?

I slowly reached my hands out to feel the edge of my double bed. They both hit something hard less than half a meter from my side.

Placing my palms on the side, I slid them up, feeling the constraints. Above me, something cold, felt like glass. I knocked. Yeah, that’s glass. It was rounded, felt like a cylinder like lid.

Where on earth am I?

* * *

It felt like hours had passed. 

The time was spent in a mostly panic attack mode, and I tried to figure out what had happened.

’ Ok, it’ll be ok... where was I?’ 

Slowly, I retraced my steps. Yesterday felt like a dream, and I could hardly remember what happened.

I woke up, got ready, went to work. I work at a bar. After a few hours, I had my break, and I went to the staff room.

Was I drugged? No, impossible, I made my drink myself and it never left my sight.

So where am I and how did I get here?

I started to try and find a way out. Hitting the glass and screaming was getting me nowhere. I shimmied down the bed until my feet hit the bottom. I pushed against it, but it was metal.

After hitting and punching the glass above me for a while, I had to stop. My hands were getting too sore.

I ran my finger tips around the edge of the glass, trying to find something.

And I did - a latch. I slid a finger in, hoping it’d fit. My pinky did, but strong enough?

”Come on,” I grumbled, messing around with what I could.

The glass lifted, a cloud of dust falling down on me, and filling my lungs.

As I coughed, I could hear an alarm going off. It sounded distant, before ringing through this room, and red lights started to flash, hurting my eyes.

I blinked a few times to get them to adjust, and looked around. It was a dusty room, unused in a long time and looked a bit like a science lab, but it looked so bare.

I looked at what I had been laying in. A medical bed, perhaps? How could it be so dusty if I had just been at work? How long had I been here?

I swung my legs off the bed and stood up, but my legs weren’t having it, and I had to grip onto the bed. It felt like my legs hadn’t been used in a while, and they wobbled like jelly.

The ground was freezing and my feet felt like they were burning from the cold. I sat back onto the bed, and waited. Perhaps the alarm would bring someone in.

* * *

Eventually, the alarm stopped and the lights turned off. I had spent enough time looking around the room that I had a vague idea of how to get to the door, when my legs were ready.

I took my time to stand up and walk around the bed, holding onto the frame. After a few laps, I felt ready to get to the door.

When I was able, I started the trek, hoping my memory was right.

Grasping around, my hand hit the handle, and the door swung open.

It was pitch black, and I took a wobbly step out, worries as to what would be in front of me.

The lights flicked on, and blinded me for a few minutes.

When I could see, I looked around at the room.

”A lounge room?” I wondered aloud. “Where am I?”

There was silence. Nothing moved.

“Hello?” I called out.

“Hello,” a woman replied.

I looked around, but couldn’t see anyone else.

”Where are you?”

”I am a computer, part of the tower. I am both everywhere and nowhere,” she said.

”Oh.” I looked around again. “Where am I, and why am I here?”

”You are in the Avengers Tower. As to why, it is unclear. I am unable to identify you.”

“Avengers? Like the movies?”

“I do not understand.”

“It doesn’t matter... Is anyone else here?”

I started to walk around, investigating the room.

”There are approximately one thousand people in the building at this time, however none on this level.”

“How do I get to where someone is?” I asked, walking towards what appeared to be an elevator.

”As I am unable to identify you, I am unable to determine your clearance, and as such, you are unable to leave this level,” she said.

There wasn’t really anything on this level but the elevator and a couch. This room was mostly bare as well. Perhaps it had something to do with my empty room...

”Can you get someone up here then?”

“Who would you like?” she asked.

I paused. Who on earth could I ask for?

“Um... I guess the owner? Your boss?”

There was silence, and I guessed she was talking to the owner. With the silence enveloping me, I decided to sit on the couch and wait for someone to arrive.

* * *

The elevator doors opened, and I stood up. A man walked out, medium height, but of a goatee going on, and thick glasses. He was wearing a suit, and looked me up and down. His poofy hair was dark and styled so as to look unstyled.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Joanne Miller,” I replied. ”Who are you?“

He didn’t reply, just looked at me up and down again.

“Why are you here?”

“Dunno, just woke up in the other room.”

“Hm.” He walked towards me and extended a hand. “I’m Tony Stark.”

“Like the movies?” I asked, taking his hand.

“What movies?”

“ The Avengers  and  Ironman. ”

Tony paused for another second. “I wasn’t sure how it would come through to you,” he said. “So, yes, like the movies, except this is real.”

He didn’t really look like Robert Downey Junior. No, he looked like a knock off of RDJ, like someone had a vague idea of what RDJ looked like and then tried to go from there.

Or if he had tried to make himself look more attractive and chose RDJ...

“Oh.”

“It’s going to be complicated. Come with me.”

Tony turned around and walked to the elevator, me hot on his tail.

We stood in silence as the lift descended.

I looked over at him. Maybe it was the frown on his face, or the fidgeting with something in his pocket, but he looked stressed, and not pleased that I was here.

The doors finally opened, and we walked out to a room full of desks, people at each one. There were offices lining the walls, made of glass, with a desk, chairs, books and papers. There was at least one person in each office, bar one at the back. Frantic, busy people were everywhere, bustling around and talking on phones. It was noisy in here, but not as loud as the siren had been earlier.

Tony led me to the empty office.

“Wait here. When I come back, you’ll have a place to sleep,” he told me, before pausing. “I’ll fill you in later.”

He turned around and walked out of the office.

“Wait,” I called out, but he had closed the door.

* * *

I did as I was told and sat in the office, waiting for Tony to return.

Outside, the sky got dark. Slowly, the people in the offices outside mine started to leave as well.

Then, when the last person left, the lights flicked off, leaving me alone in the office, the glow of the computer monitors and the city outside my window the only source of light.

And I waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know with a kudos or comment.


	3. Remembered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony remembers about his experiment, and deals with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly getting this story together while also working.  
I’m starting to get help with my mental health, which I’m really happy about, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it affects my life.  
This is going to get to be a bit of a dark fic, and I just want to say again how important it is to look after your mental health. Please look after yourself, and know that there is help if you seek it <3

When it was dark, I could vaguely see my reflection in the glass. I was thinner than I remembered, a healthier weight. My hair was shorter, too, sitting around my shoulders. Sitting alone in this room wasn’t the only thing making me uncomfortable. The idea of someone altering me without my consent made me feel so icky.

It’s been maybe two days since I woke up, and I haven’t needed the toilet yet.

Was I suspicious? More than mildly.

* * *

Someone was nudging me.

I opened my eyes, and found Tony standing there, wearing a similar suit to yesterday, and hair styled the same.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“No-one told me to leave,” I replied.

He frowned down at me. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that... Whoops.” Tony paused for a moment, before looking out the window at the other offices. “Well, I’ve sorted a place for you to stay here, and it’s all fixed up for you. Just be aware that the other Avengers occasionally stay on the floor as well.”

“No worries, I generally keep to myself,” I told him.

He nodded and looked back at me. Tony opened his mouth, but was quick to close it. He paused, and sat down in front of the desk. “There’s a lot to talk about.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“What do you know about Ultron?” he asked.

“Honestly, not a lot. I fell asleep during the movie, and I didn’t really enjoy it.” He frowned. “I know he was created to be a saviour, but his morals were skewed and he ended up causing a lot of destruction.”

“That’s the long of the short of it, I suppose.” He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back in his chair. “There’s no easy way to say this, but none of your memories are real. It was a computer simulation to give you a preloaded personality. Uh, what else is there to say?”

He paused as I tried to take it in. How could none of my memories be real?

“I don’t understand. What does this have to do with Ultron?”

Tony frowned at me. “You were lab created. I don’t know what to say that you’ll understand. There was a glitch in the computer, so I don’t think you’re what was planned.”

“Oh.” I looked at my hands, and thought about what I had learnt. “So none of my family or friends - “

“None is them are real. If you go to your hometown, if it even exists, the chances of you finding someone with the same name as your friends or family are slim to none.” He stood up. “Take a couple of minutes, I’ll take you to your room soon.”

Tony walked out of the office, leaving me with my thoughts.

I was really not in a place to fight this. I had no idea where I was, how I got here, who he was bar what he told me, and what was going on. Either I trusted this man claiming to be a fictional character, or I didn’t.

Game plan? Stay put, go along with it, figure out what’s happening. Eventually, with the right resources, I’ll leave and head home. But if Tony was telling the truth...

* * *

A few hours later, as far as I could discern, Tony returned. He opened the door, motioned with his head, and started to walk away. I jumped up and followed behind him.

In silence, we walked to the elevator, and waited. It was quick arrived.

He pressed the nine before pulling his phone from his pocket.

Further silence.

The lift arrived at nine, and he walked out, eyes still glued on the device.

Around a corner, and the first door on the left. Tony lifted the phone to his ear and spoke.

“Yes,” he said, eyes over my head.

He opened the door and motioned for me to enter. I did.

It was a very small room, the size of a broom cupboard. There was a small window with a blind, a bed pressed against a wall on the left, a shelf above that, and a small wardrobe on the right, just after the door. The bed was made with blue sheets, the only bit of colour in the room.

I turned around to thank Tony, but he was walking away, talking on the phone.

I closed the door and sat on the bed.

* * *

After a nap, I sat on the bed again and looked out the window.

It was afternoon, and a slight pink hung over the city. There were a multitude of sky scrapers, something I wasn’t used to from my small country town.

My small country town, the one that didn’t exist, a glitch in the matrix.

I felt more than a pang of sadness when I thought about home. It felt like some was squeezing my heart, and I felt a heaviness in the pit of my stomach.

As I thought about my situation, I felt a sob rise up my throat, and the tears begin to fall down my face.

Then, I ended up laying on the bed again, cuddling a pillow, and pouring my feelings out through the tears. Eventually, I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

When I woke up, my tummy was angry, rumbling up a storm. While I had felt hungry for a while, it was the last thing on my mind, and there was no one to talk to or no way to get food.

I walked out of the room.

The floor was quiet. Down my left was a corridor, a few doors dispersed on either side of it. To my right, a lounge room, a couch and tv, and next to that, a kitchen. Beside the kitchen, down a hallway, were a couple more doors.

I made a beeline to the kitchen, and started to rummage around the fridge, looking for something, anything, to eat.

Behind me, the lift doors opened.

“Oh, I didn’t know anyone was on this floor,” a man said behind me.

I turned around to see a poor mans version of Steve Rogers, a less attractive Chris Evans, walking towards me. I could only assume he was Steve.

“Tony brought me here,” I said. “I’m Joanne.”

“Steve Rogers,” he said, holding out his hand.

I shook it and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

Inside, I was freaking out. He had always been my favourite, my comphet crush, and I had read more than my fair share of fan fiction about him.

“Nice to meet you too. What brings you here?” he asked.

“Tony said I was an experiment? I’m not really sure, to be honest.”

He froze and yanked his hand away from me.

“He created you?” Steve asked, and I nodded. “Oh.”

His face completely changed, the smile gone from his eyes, a look of disgust staining his face.

“What?”

“I didn’t realise that’s who you are,” he said, looking me up and down. If he could hide his disgust and hatred, he didn’t even try.

Staring at him, I didn’t know what to say. How could I respond to that? What could I say to him?

“Oh. I didn’t realise -“

He turned around and started to walk away, down the corridor, and into a room. He slammed the door behind him.

If I wasn’t sure before, I was now. That’s America’s ass.

* * *

I sat on the couch, eating some instant noodles I found in the pantry. Since Steve left, no one had turned up, so I was left to think about the interaction.

My eyes seemed to have replenished the tears I had cried, and were ready to fall again.

Having someone I greatly admired treating me like I was the worst kind of person in the world, just because of my creation... it was the worst feeling in the world.

It felt like being here, in what is allegedly the real world, enhanced my emotions, and the emotions were just so much higher. The sorrow felt much deeper than I had ever experienced. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know with a kudos or comment :)


	4. It's a Tony Stark party, and I can cry if I want to

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when you're like, 'Oh, maybe things will get a bit better for our protag,' things get worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. I've been working a lot more lately, which is great money wise, difficult writing wise, and I'm not meant to be on my phone at work.
> 
> Anyway, this is what I've got so far, but I have written a plan of where the story is actually going, because when it was in my head, it was just kinda like oh this scene that I want, and then this scene, and then it's three years later, and I can't like actually write like that lmao.
> 
> I appreciate the kudos and comments - they motivate me to do some extra writing where I can.

When I returned to my room, I investigated every inch. In the wardrobe was a pair of clothes, just one - a blue shirt, black jeans, a fabric bra - one I would normally just wear around the house on an extremely lazy day - and a pair of white socks. Not a great look, but it wasn’t what I woke up in, which was good. They were the only thing in the room that could be considered personal items. Everything else was the furniture.

After a quick costume change, I lay on the bed, thinking about what I could do here. Nothing came to mind.

There was a noise outside my door, a group of people, perhaps, in the lounge room, probably.

I got out of bed and walked over to the door. It sounded like they were laughing, and talking loudly about a success. I inched the door open a little bit, and glanced out.

The people looked like a cheap knock off of the Avengers - extremely average looking, and nothing to write home about.

Except for Natasha, or who I assumed was. She was an oof and a half, and Scarlett Johansson couldn’t hold a candle to her. Like, not to sound horny on main, but she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and I would tell her any and all state secrets she wanted.

Then, I made eye contact with someone, and they froze. Noting the change, a few of the other a turned to look at me too.

“Uh, hi! Sorry, I heard a noise,” I said.

Tony turned to the others. “This is Janice, the, uh...”

As he trailed off, the Avengers looked me up and down, before returning to their conversations, now in a hushed tone. There was no more laughter, and everyone looked a bit more tense.

I looked over at Tony, but he was fidgeting with something in his pocket, looking down at the ground, and not joining in on the conversation, not that anyone was actively trying to engage him.

At the cold shoulder, I closed my door, and returned to sitting on my bed, now thinking about the only people who know I exist. My creator didn’t even know my name, and the others hate me, probably for the same reason as Steve.

I wondered how they could hate someone they hadn’t even met. Maybe I should do something nice, something so they warm up to me. But what?

* * *

The next time I encountered one of the Avengers, it was in the kitchen. I walked out, just wanting some tea, when I noticed Clint standing there, making a sandwich.

“Hi,” I said, walking over. Silence. “I’m Joanne.”

Ignoring me, he finished preparing his food, and went to one of the rooms down the corridor.

* * *

It had been a while since the last time I’d seen Tony, and I needed some information. It was all well and good, but not really, to just give me a vague idea of what was happening and then confine me to a small room, but I wanted to do stuff. I wanted to get a job and earn my place, go out for food, and wear clothes that aren’t the two outfits I have. The dream was to meet other LGBT+ people, make friends, live a life.

Without talking to Tony and finding out what’s what, there was no way I could keep living like this.

“Um, computer lady? Hello?” I called out, as I was making lunch.

“Good afternoon, what can I help you with?” she answered.

“Where’s Tony Stark?”

“You do not have the clearance to know that information.”

“I just want to talk to him.”

“I’ll pass on the message,” she said.

And then she didn’t speak again, so I figured that maybe Tony would show up, or she’d talk to me later.

I hung out in the lounge room, eyes on the lift, waiting for either Tony to appear, or the lady to talk again. Neither of those happened.

* * *

Every interaction with anyone over the next few months felt like it went exactly the same. I’d be sitting on the couch when the lift doors opened. Someone, like Natasha, would walk out, look at me, and go in the opposite direction. Conversations stopped at the sight of me, laughter would cease, and it was really just too much for me to deal with at this point.

* * *

I stepped out of my bedroom to see the entire place decorated in Christmas stuff. It must be December, or maybe November. Walking into the kitchen, I noticed a piece of paper sitting there.

_Tony Stark invites you to the annual Stark staff Christmas party. Six pm until late, show your Christmas spirit, and drink up. With an open bar, make sure you have a safe way home. This Friday, level 19 of the Avenger Tower._

Was this sitting here for me? I mean, the point was mute, I had no concept of time, bar the sun outside, and didn’t even know what day it was.

I stood there, wondering if I should go or not, when two people walked out of a bedroom, talking and laughing. I looked over at them. It was Steve, and probably Sam Wilson. They were wearing red and green, and walked towards the lift. They looked over at me, and continued to walk in silence.

When the lift arrived, the got in, and it took them to level 19.

_‘Ok, here’s the plan,’ I thought. ‘Go up, casually fit in, and if there’s no-one there but like three people or something, just apologise, say I’m exploring, and leave. It’ll be fine.’_

I decided to go with the plan, and got into the lift.

I pressed the button for number 19.

The lift started to move.

Wild, I hadn’t expected it to. There was no voice over demanding I got out, and nothing had happened, except the lift moving.

It was only as it started to get closer to 19 that I started to freak out. What if this was some kind of ploy? Perhaps it wasn’t December, or November or whatever. What if they were gonna Carrie me.

Oh god, please don’t let them _Carrie_ me...

* * *

I walked out of the lift and looked around. So far, it didn’t look like a ploy, but perhaps it was an extremely elaborate one.

The room was packed, a giant Christmas tree on the other side of the room. There was a bar set up nearby as well, I could tell my the crowd around it and the few people walking away with glasses.

An alcoholic beverage would be really nice right now.

Waiting in the queue, I looked around at everyone else. They all seemed happy to be here, and none of them looked twice at me. I gave a few people a weak smile.

Finally, I got to the bar.

“What can I get you?” The bartender asked.

He already looked a little tired, and had a small smile on his face.

“Can I get a vodka cola?”

He nodded. “Sure. Can I grab an ID?”

“Oh. I didn’t bring it with me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t serve you without one.”

He walked off and started to serve someone else, and I moved away.

I found a wall and stood by it, alone, watching what was going on.

“Welcome, everyone,” a voice boomed. Everyone began to stop talking, falling down into a hush. Tony Stark seemed to hover above everyone. Perhaps there was a stage, I couldn’t see. “Before we all get too drunk, we’ve got some presents to hand out. All the Secret Santa presents should be here by now, and if they’re not, I know who you are. Inside the bag is your secret Santa present and a present from me.”

A few people laughed, and someone near me said, “I’m so excited for a Stark present.”

Tony held up a bag and read out the first name.

It went on and on, everyone coming up at some stage. After a while, the last one was called and Tony looked over the sea of people, calling out, “Anyone not get a present?”

He looked at me, before putting a hand in his pocket and continuing to look around.

“None? Great. Let’s enjoy the rest of the party!”

A few people cheered, and the noise rose again. Oh.

I wasn’t too fussed about the present. Exclusion wasn’t a nice feeling, but I’d been feeling it for however long I’d been here now.

Regardless, I had to talk to Tony. The ID stuff with the bartender raised a few questions, and I needed them answered.

The party was slowly dying down. I was walking around, trying to find Tony. Eventually, I found him lounging on a couch, several people sitting with him.

Standing in front of him, I smiled and asked, “Tony, hi, can we talk?”

He looked up at me and said, “Hi, didn’t expect you here. Everyone, this is, uh, Julia. Jules, everyone.”

“It’s Joanne,” I corrected, but no-one cares, Tony didn’t move. “Anyway, the bartender wanted to ID me, and I don’t have an ID with me, so I was wondering if you...”

“Ah, shit. I knew I forgot to do something,” Tony snapped his fingers and took a sip of his drink. “I’ll get onto that at some point.”

“Is it just getting an ID?”

“No, no, no. So, you’re technically not alive, right? And you weren’t born, so you’re not actually a citizen of anywhere. I forgot to deal with that earlier. I’ll have to call in a favour somewhere somehow sometime,” Tony said, looking pretty casual and not fussed about this at all.

“Ok, well, it just means that I don’t have anything for the time being.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. You don’t go anywhere anyway. Just enjoy the party. We’ll talk later.”

“When later? Because I haven’t seen you in months.”

He waved a hand, and returned to talking to the people with him.

I walked away, and stood against a wall.

With this new information, that changed a lot, and meant I had to rethink my plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked it, let me know with a kudos or comment.
> 
> Thank you for reading, I'm aiming to get another chapter up by this weekend, but I'm also dumb and gay lmao so we'll see.


	5. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joanne starts to think about the situation she's in, and makes shocking discoveries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the delay, it's been difficult to write lately, with work being so busy. I can't write at work, my job's too hands on, but I've made notes for upcoming chapters, and have an idea of where it's all going.  
Thank you for the comments and kudos, they make my day.

I was laying in bed, thinking about what I could do now. With this new information, I didn’t have a lot of wiggle room.

Some things I had to think about:

  * Money.
  * How to get a job.
  * Where I would go if I had money.

But here was the issue, I don’t technically exist, so I couldn’t just go somewhere and get a job.

If I had money, maybe just a bus ticket or something, and just go as far as I can and try and start a new life.

I’d figure out a backstory later for that situation.

Then, I thought about the skills I do have. Honestly, not a lot, but something is better than nothing. Maybe Tony could employ me and I can make some money that way. Slowly, under the guise of appreciating what I’ve been given, I’ll raise enough funds to get a passport, or whatever I needed, and just head to another country and start a fresh life there. I could pour beers at a pub in the UK. I technically haven’t been there before, and if it’s anything like my fake memories -

I stopped.

My memories.

I couldn’t remember anything about my travels. Well, how about something less abroad. My high school - vaguely. Friends? No faces. Did Sandra ever wear glasses? Where did I get the name Sandra from?

What about my family?

My mum. What was her name? I tried to recall her face. Maybe she had dark hair, or was it bleached blonde?

I realised my memories had faded significantly.

I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

Today was New Years Eve, I think.

There was a party going on right outside my bedroom, and I decided to join in, or at least stand in the background.

And stand in the background I did. For almost two hours, before someone approached me.

"Hey," a man said, standing next to me. 

I turned and looked at him. I couldn't pick his face, it was difficult when they were all knock-offs... or I was used to the knock-offs. The mystery man had a drink in his hand.

"Yeah?"

"I'm Scott," he said, holding his free hand out.

I shook it. "Joanne."

"Nice to meet you," he said, and took a sip. "So, is this how the usual parties go? The cool kids hang out at the back and the weirdo's get wrecked?"

"Cool kids is a bit of a stretch."

He laughed. "Look, Ant-Man may not be the coolest, but I get the job done."

Ohhh, he's Ant-Man.

"I haven't seen you at a party before," I said.

Shrugging, he said, "Yeah... Tony's not the friendliest, I mean, doesn't matter how many fights in airports you turn up to, the Avengers are the Plastics."

"Plastics?" I asked.

It rang a vague bell, but I didn't know where.

"Yeah, like Regina George, that's Tony. And Gretchen Wieners. That'd be Steve, I reckon," he said, and laughed.

"Ah, I don't really watch TV."

He looked down at me and paused. "Fair enough. It's mostly trash anyway."

We stood together and looked around the party. Scott tried to say hi to a few people as they walked past, but no-one was keen on catching his eye.

"I think I've been socially black listed," he said, as Steve walked past, ignoring us and Scott's greeting.

With a scoff, I said, "Nah, it's me. I'm not very popular around here."

"Amazing. So, you're not popular, but Tony invites you?"

"Oh, no, I just show up," I told him.

He laughed. "I love it! Very bold. Well, I'm glad you've showed up. This would be the slowest night ever without you here."

I had conflicting thoughts. On one hand, I was delighted at the human contact, on the other, I was weary af.

"You've certainly livened the party up," I replied.

Scott smiled at me, and pulled something out of his pocket. "Hit me up for the next party you crash, yeah?"

He passed me a piece of paper. I realised it was a business card.

_Scott Lang_

_Ant-Man_

_Available for parties_

His phone number was on the bottom, and a logo on the back.

"A business card, hey?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to cash in on my superhero status," he said with a laugh. "But seriously, if you have a party coming up, or you've got a niece or nephew with a party soon, I'm pretty free, would love to entertain some kids."

"Sounds good, I'll keep that in mind."

He opened his mouth to say something, when a hand touched his shoulder. We both looked over at the owner.

It was Natasha, lookin' incredible as ever. Ooft.

"Scott, a word?" she said, ignoring me.

"Yeah, I'm just in the middle of a conversation, can it wait?"

Her eyes flicked at me, before returning to him. "I'm afraid not."

Scott raised his eyebrows and looked at me. "I'll be back. Keep my spot warm."

"No worries," I said with a smile, and watched as they walked away from me.

They stood about ten meters away. Natasha did most of the talking, and occasionally, Scott made dramatic faces and gestures. I couldn't pick what they were talking about though. Except they kept looking over at me.

Oh.

After a few minutes, he just awkwardly looked away at the throng of people, and scratched the back of his neck. Then, he nodded, and the two parted. But he didn't return to me. Instead, he disappeared into the mass of people.

It didn't take long for me to skulk back into my room.

I listened from my bed as everyone counted down to midnight and cheered. They welcomed the New Year and made resolutions. I wondered what I could do to gain some freedom.

* * *

It had been a few days since New Year's, and there was a loud commotion going on in the communal area.

Opening the door, I peeked out to see knock-off's of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Rocket the Racoon was easy to pick, as he is literally the only racoon in the room. He was looking a lot more feral than the movies portrayed him, and the voice was vastly different.

Then I noticed Groot, another easy pick.

There were three other people with them, a beautiful woman, who I guessed was Valkyrie, a man who looked like a poor man's Chris Pratt, and a large alien creature, who I could only assume to be Drax.

They were all laughing and talking loudly, as they looked around, and Tony was guiding them around.

"While you're here, you're more than welcome to use any of the facilities here. And the other Avengers have temporarily moved out while you're here, so the rooms are all yours.

"Awesome," Quill said, looking around.

"Who are you?" Rocket said.

I looked over to see him staring at me.

"Oh," Tony said. "That's Janice, she lives here permanently. Just ignore her, though, she's always busy."

"It's Joanne, nice to meet you," I said, coming out.

Tony reached into his pocket to fiddle with something, as I introduced myself to the Guardians.

I was correct in my initial judgment, they were who I suspected.

We all chatted about whatever, they were excited to share their stories and adventures, and I was excited to listen. We ended up sitting down, and Tony said he'd leave us to it.

"There's a party tonight to welcome us," Valkyrie said. "You should come."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just come and grab me when it's time."

* * *

Tonight was going to be the best. Scott was the first proper human communication I'd had since I woke up, so I was looking forward to a positive, and longer, interaction with someone.

There was a knock on my door and I opened it to find Valkyrie waiting for me.

"Hey, we're all about to head up."

"Cool," I said, and walked out of the room.

The group was waiting around the elevator, and I felt so comfortable just slipping in with them. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I fit, like I was an equal, and like I was a proper person.

And the night didn't disappoint.

I was, for once, the centre of attention in someone's mind, and had constant chats all night. I had never smiled more wider than that night. They were all drinking like they hadn't seen alcohol in years. Valkyrie even snagged a couple of bottles of vodka, and told me to keep them safe. We did a few shots, and I said I'd take back the bottles to my room later.

"Is that so?" she said, leaning a bit closer to me, her eyes flitting to my lips, the smell of alcohol radiating from hers.

"That's the plan," I replied. "You're welcome to help me find a spot, if you'd like."

"There are a few spots I'd like to find with you."

I felt my face heat up, and she smiled at me.

"Um, I..."

"Let's put spots on the back burner for a while," she said, and draped an arm over my shoulder. "You wanna come back to my room and make out?"

I felt my face getting even redder, and my heart raced.

"Yeah, sounds good."

She gave me this wicked little smile.

Oof. 

Forget about Natasha. She couldn't even get my name out of me if she tried. Valkyrie on the other hand, I'd sell my soul just to feel her lips press against mine for half a second.

She took my hand and we started to walk out of the party, the bottles of vodka tight in my hands.

"I've never - I mean, I don't think I've - well... I don't know how much Tony told you about me," I fumbled in the elevator.

"Tony hasn't said much, but I don't care."

She leaned down and kissed me, so gently, and I felt myself melt.

How could someone so perfect, so beautiful, want anything to do with me, the broken, barely human thing?

I tried to push my insecurities back, and we walked down to her room.

When she opened the door, I was taken aback by the colours inside.

It was bright, it was big, and there was an ensuite.

"Are you okay? You're looking pale," Valkyrie said.

I paused, taking in the room. There was a king size bed. Things taking up space, lots of things.

"Are all the rooms like this?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think so. I mean, I saw the room that damned little racoon got, and it's certainly a lot of space for such a tiny little creature."

All the rooms were giant, and I was stuck in what I can only assume to be a converted broom closet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know with a kudos or comment.


	6. Awkward Turtle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians are busy people, and Tony Stark is an ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the delay. I’ve finally figures out an ending, though, and a spin off (or two, or three lmao) that’s more upbeat and less angst the whole way through.  
As always, look after yourself and your mental health.

Valkyrie watched as tears started to well in my eyes.

”Are you ok?” she asked.

”Uh, yeah.” I brushed my eyes with the back of my hand. “I’m fine. You know, I’m actually feeling pretty tired, so I’m gonna go. But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

”Are you sure you’re ok?” Valkyrie said.

I nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah, don’t worry about me.”

* * *

I ended up spending the night staring at the ceiling, listening as slowly, everyone else returned to this level to go to bed.

While everyone slept, I came up with an argument to let be Guardians take me with them.

* * *

There was a lot of noise once the sun came up, someone yelling, and a scurrying of paws.

”Hurry up!” Rocket yelled, and I left the room.

There were bags in front of the elevator and I frowned.

”What’s going on?” I called out.

”I am Groot,” Groot called from down the hall.

There was a scoff. “Don’t tell her that!” Rocket yelled. “It was just an emergency beacon to investigate. There’s only one dead!”

”No-one’s dead!” Quill yelled. “Stop telling everyone that someone died.”

I looked around at the open doors and listened to the scuffles of bags being zipped.

”Can I help with anything?”

”Yes, I need a screwdriver to start with,” Rocket yelled.

”Stop asking for random crap you don’t need,” Valkyrie called to him. “Jo, don’t get anything.”

”I couldn’t have gotten that anyway, so don’t worry.” There was silence as everyone kept going. “I have a question, actually.” No reply. “Can, and this might be a dumb question, but can you guys take me with you?”

There was more silence, like an increase in silence, and a couple of bags stopped moving. Then, there were steps. Quill emerged from his room.

“Actually, Jo, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

The others resumed packing, and he lead me towards the sofa.

”What’s going on?” I asked.

Peter grimaced. “We all feel that you’ve gotten along well with our group, and you’d make a great addition.” I started to smile. “But we talked to Tony last night to see if it would be possible, but he said you’re needed here.”

”You don’t understand. They hate me. They always have, and I don’t think there’s anyway that they won’t.” I felt the tears welling up again. “This is my only chance to be free, to get away. I haven’t spoken to anyone properly since you guys showed up. Like, no exaggeration, this has literally been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

”I’m so sorry,” he said.

”Come on, Quill. He won’t notice. Please.”

I felt my throat tighten with sobs, and a couple of tears escape my eyes.

”Really, Jo, I’m sorry. He already said no, and I have to respect that for diplomatic reasons.” He paused. “We’ll be back, though. At some point.”

”I might not be here at ‘some point’,” I replied.

”My hands are tied. I’m sorry.”

He got up and walked to his room, leaving me on the couch, thinking about what had just happened.

I returned to my room to avoid goodbyes.

* * *

A while had passed, and while I had no way to track dates and times, I assumed this week was Valentine’s Day, based on all the hearts and red decorating the floor.

It had been two days of that, when I opened my door to see a box in front of me.

It wasn’t big, but enough to get my attention.

I pushed it to the side with my foot, and continued my way to the kitchen.

When it was time for a bathroom break, I found it back in the same spot as before, right in the middle of my way.

As I was about to push it aside, I suddenly wondered if it was actually for me.

_’Surely not...’ _I checked the box, but there wasn’t a name on it though. _’I’ll just leave it here for a bit and see what happens.’_

Surely that would be that, but it wasn’t.

A few hours later, a piece of paper slid under my door.

On one side, someone had written, “I saw you hadn’t RSVP’d and I’d love to see you there tonight. I’ll be wearing a red tie x,” and on the other was an invitation to a Valentine’s Day party.

There’d be no harm in going. Worst case, it was for me and it’s a ploy to humiliate me. Best case, it was for me and there’s no humiliation. And right in the middle, it wasn’t for me and no-one knows that I came thinking someone actually likes me, romantically or otherwise.

After a bit of convincing, I decided to go. Hopefully my luck would change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know with a kudos or comment.


	7. Valentine’s Day and a Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentine’s Day is a go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was super feelin this, and also couldn’t leave you with where it was last time, so I wrote this at work when I had a chance.  
As always, look after yourself x

There were only two things I was certain I could remember. The first was my name, and the second was my date of birth - 20th of Feb, 23 years ago.

Had I ever had a secret admirer? While I couldn’t say for certainty, I had a feeling the answer was no.

_’Maybe someone _does_ like me,’ _ I thought. _’Like, even just a friend would be awesome. Or an ally here.’_

As the day got on, I actually started to get pretty exciting thinking about the possibilities of what could happen tonight, and pushed the concerns away.

* * *

I arrived at the venue to see it decorated, just like upstairs. There were a few people around wearing something red, and a few red ties, as far as I could see. No butch girls, though, which was actually a bit disappointing, but the night was still young.

A bar was set up, but after last time, I didn’t bother to try to get a drink.

Standing around the back, I hoped that maybe someone would just come over to talk, and let me know that they’re the one who left the gift and slid the paper under my door. I was certainly catching eyes, and people were smiling at me.

* * *

It had been an hour or so since I arrived, and it was pretty packed, but not a single word to me from anyone.

For a few minutes, I wondered if the Guardians would return and sweep me off my feet to fight space crime, which sounded so much better than laying in bed everyday thinking about nothing. I didn’t even have past embarrassment to analyse as I tried to sleep.

A man in a red tie walked towards me, a phone against his ear. I’d never seen him before, but he wasn’t looking at me.

“What do you mean you didn’t get it?” he asked. “I left it in front of your door, and I know you moved it.”

My heart dropped. It was never for me.

God, I’m an idiot.

Tony walked past me at one stage, and a man hurried over.

”Sir, there’s a Mr Pool here to see you,” the man said.

”Christ. And I bet that psycho is going on about how this is a comic book, or something. Tell him he’s not legally allowed within 50 feet of me, and to go away,” Tony said, before storming off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Today was my birthday. The fake one, I guess. It had been almost a week since the V-Day party, and nothing had happened. When I had come back to my room after the party, the present was gone, and placed in front of a different door.

I was expecting nothing less than a usual standard day from anyone today, and that’s why a conversation sparked my curiosity.

”You didn’t tell her, did you?” a man said.

”Of course not,” another said. “Tony would kill us for ruining a surprise.”

_’A surprise? On my birthday?’_

”He’s been so excited for this party. I don’t know why,” the first man said.

”Yeah, I mean, I’ve never even spoken to her, I don’t know why we’re having a huge party for her.”

”While I’ll agree a party is a bit excessive,” the first said, “she deserves this. I mean, the amount of crap she’s had to put up with?”

”That’s true, I hadn’t thought about it...”

I peeked my door open to glance out, and found two men waiting in front of the elevator. It looked perhaps to be Hawkeye and someone else, an agent probably, but I wasn’t sure.

”Well,” the one that might be Hawkeye said, “just don’t mention anything to her about it. Tony said he’d get her to level six somehow.”

The agent looking one said, “I don’t know how he’s gonna get her there at six, though. It’s her birthday, she probably already has dinner plans.”

The elevator finally appeared and they got on, talking about what they were going to wear tonight.

After closing my door, I started to think about the conversation I eavesdropped on. It felt kinda weird, like they were trying to give out the details, and I’d never seen them on this floor before. It was almost like they wanted me to overhear.

This felt so typical of me, though - finding out about a party, wondering if I should go or not, going, and being disappointed with how it turned out for me.

Nonetheless, and I’m disappointed to say this, I went.

* * *

The room was decorated in ‘Happy Birthday’ signs, and there was a large cake waiting to be sliced.

_’Oh, my god!’_ I thought._ ‘They’re actually throwing me a surprise party!’_

I lingered around the back, a smile on my face, as I thought about how they’d actually shown me some decency since I got here, and maybe this would be the start of something new.

“Ladies and gentleman, if I could have your attention,” someone said, and I looked over to see Tony standing on a makeshift stage. “We’re here, of course, to celebrate a birthday, the birthday of a woman we all care about, even if we’ve never actually said it to her face. She’s very much a behind the scenes sort of person, but everyone knows her name and who she is, although I doubt she’s aware of it. Although we’ve never actually said it to her, I’ll say it to her now.” He paused and looked at me. “We all love you. You’re an absolute gem, even if you don’t always feel like it, and even if someone’s in a bad mood. So come on up, birthday girl.”

I paused for a second and he beckoned. I took a step forward, a grin on my face. This was happening! It was actually happening!! He remembered something about me for literally the first time ever!

I took another step, and so did the woman in front of me.

”OMG!” she giggled, and a few people tried to give her a quick hug. “I can’t believe y’all threw a party for me!”

She made her way up to the stage, and Tony gave her a big hug.

”Sarah Lee, you brighten up our days, so we wanted to brighten up yours. Happy Birthday,” Tony said, before leading everyone into song.

Soon, the cake was wheeled out, and cut, and taken away to be portioned.

Wait staff walked around with trays of cake, offering them to all the guests.

I didn’t take one. Normally, I’m not really hungry anyway, but any appetite I had before was gone and soured by the reveal.

While everyone danced and talked to Sarah Lee, I went and sat down. Foolishly, I decided not to leave, lest there was actually a surprise for me later on.

* * *

The party was pretty much done. Most people had left, except the staff cleaning up, Tony, and a few stragglers.

At one stage, I caught Tony’s eye, and we looked at each other for a second, before I bowed my head and looked away.

He walked over to me.

”Josie, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” he said.

”First, it’s Joanne. Second, I don’t know why you didn’t expect to see me, when you told Quill I couldn’t come with them.”

He frowned at me and crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”

”Quill said I couldn’t come with because you said I had to stay, and that I was needed here.”

Tony scoffed. “I don’t give a fuck if you go to space or not, alright?”

“Oh.” I paused. “So they ever asked you?”

”God, no. Now, can you leave so the staff can clean?”

He turned and walked away, leaving me with this new information.

* * *

I found myself back in bed, thinking about what I was going to do. Literally no-one wanted me. Tony didn’t care about anything I did, showed literally zero care ever. There was never a party for me, because that’s how little he cares. Then Quill lied to me because none of them want anything to do with me. I thought we were getting along, but apparently I can’t even distinguish when people like me.

If I left right now with what little I have, how long would I have?

Not long.

Would the starvation kill me first, or would I be murdered before I have the chance?

My situation could be so much worse by leaving.

Clearly, there’s only one thing I can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just be aware that kinda the darkest bit of the whole story will be the next part (attempted suicide). Think about whether it’s a good idea for you and your mental health to be reading the next chapter. Nothing crucial will be in the next part except for this particular sitch, so people can skip over without missing anything important.
> 
> If you liked this chapter, let me know with a comment or a kudos :)


	8. A bridge and a pool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joanne finds a bridge and meets a man who doesn’t feel like being in a fan fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the suicide attempt. There is no need to read this chapter if this is a subject that you should avoid. There’ll be a TL;DR at be beginning of next chapter so you don’t miss anything important, but skip the attempt.  
Please look after yourself and make the best choice for you and your mental health.  
Remember, there are people to help you, even if it doesn’t feel like there is.

As I walked up the bridge, I heard a song playing. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t think of any of the words.

Someone was standing at the top, the place I wanted to jump from. He looked over at me, and I paused seeing his attire.

It was a red and black suit.

”You come to listen to the bangles with me?” he asked.

”No.”

He paused for a second.

”Ah, Jesus, I’m in a fan fiction?”

I frowned. “What?”

”Hm, ok, you don’t know. That’s fine. Whatever.” He turned down his music. “You know what? I put one movie out and suddenly I’m the star of fan fictions, then I put out another, and I’m a background character. I have no wucks with being a star of a fan fic, but a guest? Of this? I dunno...”

”What are you talking about?”

The man sighed. “Do I help you and progress your story because you’re the protagonist and this is your reality, or do I step aside and let whatever happens happen because this is just a fan fic?”

”Do whatever you want,” I said. “I’m jumping now.”

As I approached the railing, he spoke again.

”This is your reality, so I should act as though this is mine, too.” He leaned against the rail. “Go home, kid. Whatever’s going on, it’s not as bad as it seems, etc.”

”Did you just say ‘etc’?” I asked, before shaking my head. “You know what? It doesn’t matter, because you don’t understand how bad things are, and this is my only choice.”

”Well, you can’t jump today, because that’s what I’m doing. We can’t BOTH jump.”

”Do whatever you want,” I said, before just yeeting myself over the edge.

”No. Don’t. Stop.” He sighed. “I’m always so out of character in fan fic. It’s so hard to capture my true self.”

I lost his voice as I started to plummet, falling closer and closer to the water. Soon enough, I won’t have to worry anymore, and I won’t have to deal with the Avengers bullshit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look after yourself x
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know with a kudos or comment.


	9. Suspicious...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony changes his tune, but like, slightly, and also not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're not too far away from the ending, but still a few more chapters to go.  
Anyway, I had an appointment today to talk about my mental health, and it went well, now I'm starting to like look for a regular person to talk to, which'll be good.  
Make sure you're lookin' after yourself, esp if anything in this story brings something up for you.  
Oh, also, there's a bit of swearing in this chapter, like more so than the past ones. Probably more than the future ones as well, tbh.

**A/N: Previously, Jo met Deadpool on a bridge, and he was a bit of a weird mess, before she jumped. And that's what you missed on Glee.**

* * *

I had never felt the wind in my hair before, and it was an odd feeling. I had a vague feeling that maybe in my fake life, I had gone sky diving, or bungy jumping, because as terrifying as jumping off a bridge was, after a few moments, the fall wasn't terrifying me as much.

_'Oh, my God!' _I thought at one stage. _'I just jumped off a bridge!'_

Before my thoughts could go any further than that, something grabbed me around my waist. I was still mid air, too far from the ground, and it just didn't make any sense.

I looked over, and saw a red metal suit holding me.

Great.

After letting out a sigh, I allowed it to take me wherever.

* * *

The second I stepped onto the roof of the tower, a door opened, and Tony Stark walked out.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"Take a guess."

He rolls his eyes. "I had to leave a meeting to deal with this."

"I didn't ask you to," I replied.

He started to rant at me, telling me how ungrateful I was - that he had created me and given me a home, and in return I was going to damage his creation beyond repair.

"Follow me," Tony said, before turning and walking towards the door.

He opened the door, and I realised it was an elevator.

Before I could say anything, not that I really had anything to say, he continued his rant.

And continued.

And continued, until we had gotten to my level, and we stood in front of my bedroom door. From over his shoulder, I could see the other Avengers sitting on the couch, waiting for Tony.

"I could go on," he said, "but I'll leave you to think about that, and consider the consequences of your actions."

Tony turned and walked over to them.

"You ok?" Natasha asked.

"I just don't know what to do about it. There's always something," Tony replied, and I shut the door behind me, trying not to listen to the critique of me.

With the slight whisper of another Stark rant going on outside, I lay in bed.

He wouldn't let me live, he wouldn't let me die, was there nothing I could do?

Unfortunately, it seemed so.

* * *

There was a knock on my door.

It had been a while since I'd left my room. A few days, anyway.

"Jo?" a man called out. "It's Scott."

"Go away," I replied.

He opened the door.

I sat up and looked at him. "I literally just told you to go away."

"Look, I know, but I hadn't seen you for - " he stopped mid sentence, and looked around. "What happened?"

"Nothing, can you go?"

"Is this how you live?" he asked, before turning to me. "I don't mean that in an offensive way."

"I don't know what to tell you. This is what I was given."

He walked into the room, leaving the door open, and started to open all the draws. Scott looked in and under everything he could, trying to find something. Maybe looking for something that was mine.

"What do you do all day?" he asked.

I shrugged, and lay back on the bed.

After a few minutes of investigating, he turned and looked at me. It looked like a mix of terror and pity. But I also thought the Guardian's liked me, so what did I know when it came to people.

He stalked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Even with the door closed, I could hear him yelling outside.

"What is wrong with you people, that you would let a helpless person live like that? She has nothing! She can't do anything! She jumps off a goddamn bridge, and literally nothing changes! How can you do that? You're supposed to look after people, save the world, but you can't even show a shred of respect for someone in the same building as you. It's disgusting!"

After a few minutes of just going OFF, and the Avengers trying to defend their actions, Scott returned to my room.

"Joanne, do you want to come with me? We can go get an ice-cream, or you can just move into my spare room, whatever you're feeling," he said.

"I just want to be alone," I said.

"You will have as much privacy as you want."

I rolled over, facing away from him. "I don't even legally exist, so there's no point."

He tried to talk to me, but I didn't respond, and eventually he closed the door.

I felt a bit bad. Scott has literally been the nicest person toward me so far, but he also stopped talking to me at a party because Natasha said so. Really, is he any better than the others?

* * *

After getting some snacks from the kitchen, my door was slightly ajar. I could hear when people were moving around the level, or getting in and out of the elevator. It didn't matter to me, and I didn't have anything to listen to or watch, so it wasn't like it was an issue for them either.

"Ok," a man said from outside the door, probably Steve, I think. "The party's on tonight."

"She doesn't know yet, right?" another man said.

"No, no. It's 100% a surprise. I'm inviting her later, but for the time being, she has no idea."

"Ah true."

The pair paused.

"I'll just ask Jolene if she's interested, because we're here," Steve said, before coming over to my door. He knocked, and slid it open. "Hey, there's a party tonight, and you're welcome to come."

"Ok, thanks."

"It's on level four, from about six."

"Sounds good," I replied, continuing to snack.

"Will you be there?"

I shrugged. "Didn't realise I had to RSVP."

"Well, no," he said, "but so I know if I should save a dance for you."

"Uh, yeah, maybe."

He grinned. "Alright. See you there."

Steve closed the door behind himself.

Another party. Another goddamn party where I can't drink, and no-one will talk to me. But maybe the party is for me?

_'No, you know what?'_ I thought. _'Whenever these parties happen, I get my hopes up, go, and then it's never involving me at all, and I always hate myself afterwards. What's the point in going?'_

When six rolled around, I grabbed some snacks and stared out the window as the ants walked around, and the little cars scooted about.

* * *

Someone was banging on my door, and I jumped. Before I could even call out, the door was slammed open, Tony standing in the middle, and the others standing behind him.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Why weren't you there tonight? You come to every other party, and the one party we actually want you at, and you don't show up," Tony said.

"What are you talking about?"

He scoffed. "It's been a year since you first showed up, and I wanted to throw you a party."

I couldn't help myself - I started to laugh. But no-one else did, just retained their same, frustrated faces.

"No way you threw a party for me."

"You are so ungrateful," Tony said. "I try and do something really nice for you, and you just -"

He continued his rant, and I just let him, eating my popcorn as he did.

"Do you have _anything _to say for yourself?" he demanded.

"Yeah, actually. A lot." I put my popcorn aside and walked up to him. "This has been the worst year of my life, and this experience has been beyond terrible. I'm _clearly _struggling mentally, but you don't do anything about that in fact, you make it all worse. All of you have ostracised me, and done your best to exclude me from life, from experiencing things, and from being around other people. Every single one of you contributed to everything I've done that you hated. I literally jumped off a bridge, because you people are so hellbent on making my time here miserable. Every single one of you can go fuck yourselves, especially you, Stark. You're the worst person in the world, and I hope you die alone."

Natasha scoffs from behind Tony. "I knew she'd turn out like this. We can't trust you to make sentient beings, Tony."

"No, you contributed to this, from any time you've glared at me, or when you told Scott to leave me alone at that party. You're not innocent in who I am today. If you think your hands are clean, you're deluded." I turned to Tony. "Give me money, and I'll leave. I'll get out of your hair, and you won't have to worry about me embarrassing you, or making you miss meetings, or whatever inconveniences my suicide attempt was."

"You know what?" Tony asked. "Take a thousand dollars and get the fuck out of my building."

He grabbed his wallet and pulled a stack of money out.

I took it and said, "I hope I never see any of you fuckers again."

Pushing past them, I got to the elevator and made my way to the street.

* * *

Looking around at the buildings from the side walk, I started to realise the consequences of my actions. The people weren't ants anymore. They were literal, real people, and not a friendly face in the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter, let me know with a comment or kudos :)


	10. East Pass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With one thousand dollarydoos, Joanne's gotta make some choices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're really on the home stretch at this point. I'm thinking maybe three more chapters left? And then I'll do the two or three endings I have as seperate chapters. Like a choose your own adventure, but there's no happy ending lmao.  
Then I think I'll play around a bit and do a couple of one-shots relating to this but also kinda not, but we'll see. I'll let you know later, and I might actually work on them properly and like edit and what not.  
Me? Posting something I actually worked on and not just posting the first draft for each chapter? It's less likely than you think.  
But yeah, I tend to put more effort into shorter pieces because I feel like I can take more time to just make it good haha  
Ah well, here's this chapter.  
As always, look after yourself.

This was possibly the worst decision I could have ever made.

I allowed myself a couple of minutes before I started to walk around. First, I needed a plan.

_'Ok,' _ I thought. _'First, I go and buy a bag, some clothes, and then I head to, like, a bus station, and just go until I can't go anymore. I'll figure out a new plan from there.'_

The adventure began, with me trying to find a clothing shop nearby.

For a moment, I forgot that this was truly the first day of my life, and there was so much I could do. And the things I couldn't do? I'd figure that out later.

* * *

Laden with a bag full of clothes, and a bit more change, I started to form a bit more of a game plan.

_'How on earth am I going to find a bus station?' _I thought.

I had a couple of options. In my pocket was that business card from Scott. There were pros and cons to that. If he could come and pick me up, it'd be a free trip. But he'd also be able to figure out where I was going, and there's the possibility he'd tell Stark and the others where I was headed. The other option was to get a taxi. But I didn't even know how to do that though...

Had I ever seen one of the ants hail a cab? I think so.

I stood on the side of the road, looking out at the traffic coming towards me, waiting for a taxi to show up.

After a few minutes, one appeared. I stepped to the edge of the curb and raised my hand, trying to make eye contact.

It didn't stop.

Before I could feel disappointed, another one behind it slowed down in front of me.

Ok, so I hadn't actually expected to get this far, and I didn't know what to do next.

"Where ya headin'?" the driver asked.

"Uh, to a bus station?"

He nodded, and I took this as a sign to get into the cab.

* * *

When we arrived, I quickly paid, and made my way to find a ticket booth or something. There was a big map of America, with different coloured lines, probably for where each bus went. They didn't extend too far, but from there, there'd be more busses, surely.

I didn't recognise any of the towns on the map. That absolutely meant none of my friends or family existed. But even if they did, I don't even remember their names.

A woman sat in a glassed off room, looking incredibly bored. Above her, a sign that read, 'Tickets'. I walked over to her.

"Where to?" she asked.

"Uh, where's the furthest I can go?"

"Last stop of the 326 is East Pass, which is a two-day trip."

I nodded. "When's the next one leave."

"You're in luck," she said. "It's about to leave. You've got a couple of minutes to board before it goes."

After paying for my ticket and being told where to go, I headed off toward the bus.

* * *

It had been several hours and dozens of stops. I'd just changed busses and found a spot by myself around the middle. My bag on the chair next to me, I stared out the window most of the time.

The bus stopped again, and I looked around at the town we'd stopped at. It looked small. Nice, but small.

I saw a woman walking from the bus into the town, and frowned.

_'Her bag sure does look like mine,' _ I thought, but dismissed it, because my bag was right -

The seat next to me was empty. That woman stole my bag!

Before I had the chance to even stand up, the bus doors closed and started to drive.

Time for stock take, then.

So, my bag was missing, as well as just over three hundred dollars worth of clothes. I had left change in there, about seventy dollars. The ticket was $100 for the full way, so I had about six hundred left.

From that six hundred, I'd have to buy clothes, food, etc.

* * *

Still a day away from my destination, I started to come up with a plan.

First, I find a hotel or something, and put down for three days, pay in cash, and see what I can do from there.

Then, I go around to the local businesses to ask if they're hiring.

_'But,' _ I thought, _'they'll ask about my education, past workplaces, a bank account, a drivers licence.'_

Ok, new plan, which involves learning to cry on cue.

I'm running away from home, from an abusive family. If I use my bank account, or anything like that, it'll alert them as to where I am. No-one can know I'm here, not even the government. They'll have surely alerted the local police, and they'll be looking for anyone trying to do a background check and the like.

So, I'll have to talk to places that don't require that sort of thing.

And I'll find somewhere to buy a phone. And a clothing shop to re

I leaned back in my chair. There was so much to do, so much to think about, and I don't know if I could handle this.

But I didn't have a choice.

* * *

The bus stopped, and the driver stood up.

He looked over at me and yelled, 'Last stop.'

I stood up and looked around. I hadn't even realised I was the last one on.

Walking down the aisle, I glanced out the window.

"Is this East Pass?" I asked him.

He nodded and gestured for me to get off the bus.

The doors swung closed behind me, and I stood at the empty bus stop, looking around.

First things first - I had to find somewhere to sleep.

* * *

I walked into what appeared to be the only hotel in town.

There was an angry looking old lady sitting at the desk. I approached her.

"Yeah?" She didn't even look up from her computer.

"Do you have any vacancies? I'd like to stay for a while, at least three days."

She paused and looked up at me. "Sure, we've got a room. It's fifty a night, with a deposit of fifty on your credit card."

"Oh." I paused. "So, I don't have a credit card, I'd have to pay in cash."

"Fine. I'll take your drivers licence and - "

"Uh, I don't have a drivers licence. I don't have any ID. See, I'm running away from an abusive family, and - "

"No ID, no room."

"I _really _need a room. Please."

She paused and leaned back in her chair.

"Alright, I'll make a deal with you. It's a hundred a night, a hundred deposit. You'll pay for three nights. Tomorrow, if you want to stay longer than the three, you'll have to pay in advance. Your deposit is non-refundable."

Oh thank GOD! Anything is better than nothing. But straight up, that's four hundred of my six hundred dollars.

"Sounds good, thank you so much."

* * *

The next thing to do was get some clothes and a job.

A job was most important, so I went to look at businesses first.

Nothing was going well for me, though, and nowhere was hiring, allegedly. I mean, the people I talked to just straight up said nope without asking for my deets or anything.

After buying some clothes, and buying a phone, I returned to the hotel with less than a hundred dollars on me, hoping to regroup and figure it out later.

* * *

I opened the door of my room and turned on a light. Closing the door, I kicked my shoes off and threw my goods to the ground.

"Hi, Joanne," a voice behind me said.

I spun around, a man in a black suit sitting on my bed.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Stark sent me," he replied, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "He wanted me to pass on a message."

"Did he just."

The man stood up and walked toward me. "You have a tracking device embedded in your head. He knows where you are all the time, and there's no way for you to remove it. When you're in trouble, financially or otherwise, you will be taken back."

I felt myself pale.

"What?"

"We're always watching, Joanne."

He walked past me and out the door.

* * *

As the sun set, I lay in bed, thinking about what I was going to do, now that Stark had once again burst my bubble.

_'I have no choice,' _I thought. _'With a chip in me, and a suspicious community, I can't prosper here, and I don't have the money to go somewhere else and start again.'_

With that in mind, I went to the bus station and got a ticket to the next bus returning to my start point.

* * *

While I sat on the bus, I started to play around with my phone

My phone wasn't working? It was something to do with my sim, and it was annoying the shit out of me.

Eventually, it told me I needed an ID to use it properly.

Whenever we hit a new town, I managed to connect to some free WiFi and started to get going. At least, even without a sim card, I'd have a way to entertain myself when I'm trapped.

* * *

I walked into the Stark tower, feeling deflated.

"Excuse me," the person at the reception desk said, as I walked straight toward the elevators. "Ma'am!"

I glanced over at her and waved before continuing.

As I pressed the button, a large hand landed on my shoulder.

"I need to see some ID," a deep voice said.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw a large, tall security guard.

"Yeah, Tony can deal with all of that."

"You need to leave the building," he told me.

There was a click clack of heels, and someone sighed. "It's fine, Maurice."

The guard walked away and revealed Tony standing there.

Elevator doors opening, he gestured for me to enter.

"How was the trip?" he asked.

"A lot of fun. Super great to have my independence."

"Back so soon?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, once you remove the tracking device, give me an ID and make me legally a person, I'll be gone."

"Oh, is that all?" he asked.

We stood the rest of the elevator trip in silence.

Finally, I got to my room and opened the door.

Someone had been here, and they'd decorated the room - putting things around, clothes I didn't like, ugly paintings and pictures on the wall, picture books, and books about old people.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Scott turned up with boxes and demanded he came in."

"Why?"

"He was upset from... when he broke into the tower and harassed you."

I rolled my eyes. "Didn't you tell him I wasn't here?"

"Yeah, but he insisted," Tony said, and shrugged. "Whatever, he'll be right."

Tony closed the door behind me, and I put my bag on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know with a comment or kudos :)


	11. i-hate-tony-stark.com

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back, back again, Joanne's back, for revenge.
> 
> IDK, I like to think I'm funny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter wasn't the fun-est to write, and I feel like that kinda came across, so my apologies, but it's a bit of a step to where we need to get to.
> 
> Anyway, we're getting into the home stretch, which I feel like I keep saying haha!  
Also, this is one of the longest fan fics i've ever written, and almost as long as my thesis, which is the longest original work, so that's pretty exciting for me haha
> 
> So, next chapter will be four parts - part one, is the epilogue kind of thing. part two to four will be the alternate endings, because I can't pick just one.

I unpacked all my stuff, and lay down on the bed.

_'What a mess,' _I thought.

One shot at independence, and I couldn't do it, of course.

* * *

Bored, I gave my phone another shot.

There was a restaurant nearby with free wifi, so I got onto that.

For a moment, I thought about trying to find my friends and family, before remembering that I don't remember anything about them.

I searched my name.

Nothing about me came up. I searched for Tony and the others, and their names appeared, with photos of them, and verified online accounts. At least they were honest about who they are...

While scrolling through Tony's results, there didn't seem to be any negative press or articles about him at all. In fact, everyone loved him, worshipped him, even. Him! The man who had both provided and ruined my life.

It was just timing, really, whether poor or otherwise is at one's discretion. Nonetheless, an ad for creating a website popped up, and within minutes, i-hate-tony-stark.com was born.

_'This is a site for anonymous true stories about interactions with tony stark'_

_i met tony stark a while ago. i was in a really bad place and he offered a place for me to stay for a bit, but when i was there he stole my id and anything to prove who i am. i tried to leave but he stalked me and sent someone after me when i got away._

_tony stark belittled me for attempting suicide_

_while ive never been kicked out of one of his parties, tony has insulted me for turning up to them_

_tony once encouraged his friends to alienate me and exclude me from events in our workplace_

_i was at the avengers tower to talk to tony and he left me in an office for hours waiting for him_

_despite telling him every time i see him, tony refuses to remember my name_

* * *

It had been over a week since my website started, and I was posting several times a day. I kept it vague enough that Tony wouldn't necessarily recognise me as the poster, but it was all still true.

The views started to come in, and surprisingly quickly, a large number of people were commenting, sharing, liking, and talking about my site. There was a news article about the site, and how Tony had yet to comment on it.

Support flooded in, people were emailing me to share anonymous stories, and a swelling of people got behind me.

Then, I got an email.

_'Hey Julie-Anne Limmer, I'm really disappointed and saddened to read your posts. I feel terrible for leaving you with this impression of me. It would mean a great deal to me if we were able to meet up and address what's up. If you're able, come by the Tower at 2pm today, and I'll be waiting for you in the foyer. There's a great coffee shop down the road and we can go there to clear the air. I hope to see you there - Tony Stark'_

Saucy.

* * *

Sitting in a plastic chair in the foyer of the Tower, I glanced around at the few people in the area.

It was 1.55pm, and Tony would be here any minute.

The lift doors opened, and the man himself walked out, looking around the foyer. After a quick glance, his eyes glued to the door, not seeing me at all.

As the minutes passed, Tony paced around the foyer, keeping an eye on the door, waiting for his mystery woman to appear and tell him why she hates him so much, to clarify what had gone on.

I looked at the clock. It was 2.10pm. He ran his fingers through his hair, and looked like he was about to leave.

Before he could make his escape, I walked over.

"Tony," I said.

He glanced at me, before looking away.

"I'm busy right now, Josie," he said. "Go away."

"It's Julie-Anne."

He paused and looked at me.

"What?"

"Well, Julie-Anne Limmer is my pseudonym anyway."

Tony was seething, his lips pulled back in a sneer. "_You're _Julie-Anne Limmer?"

"Joanne is fine. Jo, even," I said.

He scoffed. "You are ruining my reputation, ok? People are mad, because of your little tantrum."

"Sucks to be you, but I'm not pulling the site. People are connecting with it."

"Oh, you're gonna pull the site, alright," he said. "Because I'm the most powerful bitch there is, and you don't want to mess with me."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Threatening my own creation? Me?" He raised an eyebrow. "It's more likely than you think."

Tony turned and walked away, leaving me alone.

* * *

_tony was super hostile through the whole meeting and threatened me if i didn't pull the site_

People were no happy with my latest post, and it had the internet in a whirlwind. As I was reading the backlash, an update was posted.

_'Tony Stark responds to threat allegations'_

_'Tony Stark responded to the allegations made this afternoon by popular blogger Julie-Anne Limmer._  
Limmer claims Stark spoke with her over the blog 'i-hate-tony-stark.com' and he responded negatively.  
"[Tony Stark] was super hostile through the whole meeting and threatened me if [I] didn't pull the site," she posted.  
However, Stark is claiming the allegations and the content on her blog are all false and supplied audio of the exchange.  
"Julie-Anne was a one-night fling," Stark said this afternoon in a statement to the press.  
"She wanted more, but I wasn't looking for that, so she's attempting to get revenge, I suppose."  
"In any case, she shouldn't be believed, and I have audio of the meeting to prove it."  
The audio file appears to support Stark's message.  
"Everything she's said is a lie, so if you want to keep reading, take it with a grain of salt."

I couldn't believe what I was reading, but it seemed that everyone else did.

Not long after this press statement, or whatever, everyone had started to turn on me, posting comment after comment on my site. Some people told me to kill myself, others saying I was a disgrace for trying to slander Tony. A few people told me I was a slut for sleeping with him, and sites cropped up, condemning my name and picking apart my blog posts.

* * *

I walked out of my room to get a snack, before realising the other Avengers were in the lounge room.

They looked at me in disgust.

"Don't look at her or talk to her," Natasha said, "otherwise she might try to drag you online."

I rolled my eyes, got my snack, and returned to my room.

Even though I didn't like most of the stuff that Scott had put into my room, I was trying to look through what was actually there.

There were a lot of books, and I picked one up. It looked interesting enough, and I gave it a shot.

* * *

I turned the page and winced. I'd gotten a paper cut.

Then, I paused. I didn't actually feel any pain, nor was there any blood. There was a cut, though. A small flap of skin. I started to pick at it, still not feeling any pain, and pulled the skin away from my finger.

* * *

Without so much as a thought to the Avengers, I walked out of my room and to the kitchen.

I placed my hand on the counter as I grabbed a big knife from the draw.

One finger.

Then the mangled one where I'd picked at the skin.

Third finger.

"What the hell are you doing?" someone yelled out.

"Oh, my God. Get Stark here, NOW!" someone else yelled.

I looked up, holding the knife up for finger four, as Steve and Clint looked at me in disgust, and worked frantically to stop me, without going near me.

Finger four.

The elevator doors swished open, and Tony walked out, his phone in hand.

"What's going on?"

He looked up at me, the knife in my hand, and the fingers loose on the bench. Tony gagged.

"Jesus Christ!" He swore a few times, and walked over to me. "Get your fingers and come with me."

I put the knife down and did as he requested. We walked into the lift.

He did his best not to look at my hand, and put his own into his pocket.

* * *

We sat at a bench, electronics surrounding us. Tony was attempting to reattach my fingers. He'd done one already, but there was a visible line, and he wanted to get rid of it. I stared down into the elecronic abyss of my hand.

"I didn't feel any pain, and I don't bleed," I said.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"I didn't realise I was..."

He paused as I trailed off.

"I didn't realise I had to spell it out to you."

"But I ate, and drank, and - "

"What goes in must go out, but you were never hungry or thirsty, were you?"

I paused. "But I got drunk?"

"Placebo effect." He picked up the finger I had picked at, the skin flapping around. "What did you do?"

"I got a papercut."

He looked down at it in disgust and shook his head.

As he worked, I thought.

"Wait," I said, breaking the silence. "So when you were going off about me ruining your creation, you weren't talking about me, you were talking about my body?"

Tony was either too busy concentrating to process what I said, or he decided to ignore it.

Eventually, he finished the last finger.

"You can't lead a normal life, Jo." He got up and started to put his tools away. "Now that you know, you'll always be aware of it."

"I can try."

Tony paused and nodded. "Yes, I suppose you could." After a few moments, he looked up at me and said, "You can go now."

* * *

After talking to Tony, I had a lot to think about. I lay down in bed.

_'So,' _I thought, _'what repercussions, if any, could I possibly face?'_

Outside my room, I could hear the Avengers talking. Perhaps Tony was telling them about what had happened.

I decided to find out.

Opening my door, I walked out of my room and straight over to Tony, lounging, surrounded.

He looked up at me. "Yeah?"

I punched him in the face.

He groaned and grabbed his nose, blood leaking through his fingers.

Outraged, yelling and shouting, the Avengers stood up.

I turned around and walked back to my room, ignoring them.

So it didn't hurt to hurt him physically, and I had no moral objections to hurting him either.

I spent the rest of the day wondering what costume I'd wear if I was a villain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter, let me know with a kudos or comment


	12. Epilogue and Endings 1-3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion to the stories, and the three possible endings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end, thank you for reading, I highly appreciate it!
> 
> So, the format here is 'epilogue' (which is the last thing that's definite for all three endings), 'E1 - Negative', 'E2/3 - Set Up', 'E2 - Neutral' and 'E3 - Positive', the three endings I've come up with.
> 
> The set up is literally the stuff that's the same between two and three, but doesn't fit one. IDK, you'll see and I'm sure you'll figure it out. 
> 
> If you don't like the endings, or have your own, write it in the comments!
> 
> As always, look after yourself and your mental health x

Tony sat down in the office, holding an ice-pack to his nose. At the long table, the other Avengers sat with him.

"I don't know what to do," he said. "I say this every time something happens, but there's always something with her."

Natasha crossed her arms. "You said she wouldn't have access to the internet."

"And you said there won't be a problem with her strength," Clint added.

"In fact," Steve said, "you said you worked around the Ultron problems."

"Well, I don't know how she got onto the internet, but it definitely wasn't a design flaw. She wouldn't have known about her strength if she hadn't just gone to town with that knife. And as for the Ultron problems," he paused. "She is different, ok?"

"She's a psychopath," Wanda said. "You have to get rid of her."

Scott looked around the table in horror. "What is wrong with you people? If you hadn't been mean to her from the get-go, this wouldn't have happened."

"Interesting. Like a nature/nurture kind of thing?" Bruce asked.

Tony stood up and started to pace, ignoring the people around him. "We have to do something, though."

"We could just kill her," someone said.

"No, we need to decide as a group what we're doing," Tony said. "Everyone has to agree." He paused and looked at Scott. "Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not an Avenger, I don't know what you're doing here in the first place, but you've made your case for her, so you can go."

Grumbling, Scott got up and walked out.

"She has to go," Steve said. "I don't care how you do it, but she needs to leave."

Wanda frowned at her colleagues. "I don't want her alive. If she kills even one person, their blood will be on our hands."

"We could give the nature/nurture a crack, but I don't know how..." Bruce said, before trailing away into thought.

Eventually, they all agreed on what should happen to her, something they were all morally comfortable with.

* * *

ENDING ONE

-

NEGATIVE

* * *

Joanne was laying in bed, facing the wall. Sometimes she lay on her side like this, just to feel a little less alone, but she wasn't really sure how effective it was.

It was dark, both inside and out. She'd drawn the curtains and opted to sleep in a pretty well blacked-out room.

For a moment, she thought she heard the door open, but surely no-

Someone threw a bag over her face, gripping onto her tight. She thrashed, tried to get out of their grasp, but they were fast, quick, and immobilised her quickly.

As she attempted to scream, her body was shut down.

* * *

Opening her eyes, she looked around. She appeared to be laying in a cylinder.

Before she could even think any more on it, it flipped open.

A man stood there and smiled at her.

"Hi Joanne, my name is Tony. How are you feeling?"

She attempted to sit up, but her arms were weak, and she fell back.

"It's ok, take your time."

She looked around the room, realising it was a lab, or thereabouts, full of wires and electrical equipment. The man standing in front of her, Tony, looked to be a bit of a poor mans Tony Stark, like from the movies.

After a few minutes, she managed to sit herself up.

"Where am I?" Joanne asked.

"That's a bit of a tricky question, and I'm sure you've got many more. How about I introduce you to everyone first, and show you to your room, and then we'll talk about everything," Tony said.

"Uh, ok."

They worked on standing up and walking around the lab a bit first.

Soon, they walked outside. It was a large area, with a kitchenette, and a small lounge space. Sitting there was a group of people.

_'They look like a knock-off of the Avengers,' _she thought.

Each person introduced themselves, and gave her a hug.

"It's lovely to meet you," one of the women, Natasha, said, a big smile on her face.

* * *

ENDING TWO/THREE

-

SET UP

* * *

Joanne was laying in bed, facing the wall. Scott had hung up photos and paintings all along the wall, and she was working on memorising every detail of each one.

There was a knock on the door.

"Jo, you free for a bit?" someone asked.

She turned around and found Tony standing there.

"What's up?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you in my office, if that's alright. I've got an offer for you."

"Uh, sure." She got out of bed. "What's this about?"

"Well, we can discuss it on the way to my office, I suppose." They walked to the lift, and he gestured for her to enter. "I know this isn't easy for you, or good, and I want to make things better."

"There's nothing you or any of the Avengers could possibly do to make me like you."

"And I'm aware of that. The punch the other day was certainly proof."

Jo realised his nose was still a bit euch.

"So, what?"

"So, I want to offer you what you want."

The lift doors opened, and he walked out, leaving a confused Jo. She was quick to trail behind him.

"What do you mean?"

They walked to an office, and Tony closed the door behind her.

"I'm offering you - actually, would you like a drink? Tea? Coffee? Or a snack?"

"No, I'm fine. What are you offering?"

"Oh, yeah. Freedom."

"But the tracker..."

"Yes. Here's how I've envisioned it going." He paused and got his notes out. "We take your tracker out, which will involve putting you under while I extract, and may require a couple of days of being under to recover, before getting you up and running again. While you're out, I get your ID's together, birth certificate, proof of age, passport, you name it, except drivers license, and you've got it. You'll be an official citizen, and you'll be able to go anywhere or do anything."

"Ok, but - "

"Money, I know. For that, I'm offering a thousand dollars a month, transferred into a bank account for you. On top of that, I'll find you a place here if you'd like and pay your rent forever, no questions asked, and fully furnish it for you."

This was tempting. VERY tempting. "And what's the price of this?"

"You promise to never commit any crimes ever, with the knowledge that if you're arrested for anything, even just jaywalking, you'll have to come back here for a while, before returning to your life."

"And what's in it for you?"

Tony paused and frowned. "Not a lot, really, but knowing that I don't have to worry about you, that you won't slander my name again, or attempt anything. And I can deny all knowledge of you." He looked down at his notes again. "Also you suck at parties, and that's killing my vibe."

Jo nodded. "Alright. When would all this start?"

"The room's ready for you now. We can head over whenever you're ready and get started. Everything will be the same when you return."

There was a pause as the two thought. Jo was wondering what the catch would be. Tony was praying, something he's rarely done, that she'd accept, so this nightmare would be over.

"Ok, let's do it."

* * *

Jo sat in the chamber she had been in when she woke up. Tony was prepping some tools, and reading from a list.

"So, question one of the exit interview - what would you change about your time here?"

She paused. "Uh, I don't think there's really anything I could have changed, but I would have prefered if people hadn't made their mind up about me beforehand."

"How did you find the quality of catering?"

"Are these the actual questions you ask leaving employees?" Jo asked.

Tony looked at her and laughed. "Yeah, I gotta make sure everyone's enjoying the events and parties."

"Fair enough," she smiled a little, although it was more in the excitement of finally being allowed to live. "The food was pretty alright, but the bartenders were very strict all the time about making sure I had an ID, so I didn't appreciate that much."

"And what was your favourite party you attended?"

Her good mood turned sour, thinking about the events she'd attended, or gatecrashed, depending on your view of it.

"I don't have a favourite."

"Well, which ones did you enjoy, then?"

"I didn't enjoy any of them. But not for catering or decorating reasons."

Tony paused. "If you threw your own event, what would you have done differently?"

"Made it more inclusive."

"Did you like your boss?"

"No."

He glanced up at her. "Who was your favourite coworker?"

She looked down at her hands, hoping he'd ask another question. But he sat, waiting for a reply.

"No-one likes me, Tony." Jo paused again, feeling almost dread wash over her. "How can I like anyone when no-one wanted anything to do with me?"

"What about the Guardians? Or Scott?"

"Both are complicated, but no."

He paused again. "Who did you chat with?"

"Is this the first time you've realised how isolated I was?"

Instead of answering, he looked back at his sheet.

"Did working here help with any of your professional or personal goals?"

"No."

He continued the questions, working hard on getting everything together, before finally he was done.

"Are you ready?"

"Promise everything will go to plan and be ok."

He paused and looked down at her. _His _plan would go right. What would happen to hers was another story, for he couldn't guarantee the brightness of her future.

"I promise to do my absolute best," he replied.

With reassuring words, she allowed him to sedate her.

* * *

ENDING TWO

-

NEUTRAL

* * *

Tony turned her off and looked at the lifeless body he had created. It was time to dismantle <strike>her</strike> it, and continue with his life, pretending Joanne never existed.

It was for the best. No-one could guarantee she wouldn't be the worst, but it guaranteed she couldn't be. Wanda had made a passionate case, crying included, and a compassionate ending to her life was agreed. Her last memory was of him being generous, of helping her, and promising it would be ok. And it would be, for everyone else.

* * *

ENDING THREE

-

POSITIVE

* * *

An alarm was going off, blaring.

Grumbling, Jo rolled over and turned the alarm clock off.

Joanne opened her eyes and looked around. She didn't know where she was. It was almost like her memory had been cleared when she slept.

The door opened and a woman walked in. Her mum.

And then just like that, all the memories returned.

"Morning sweetie! Breakfast is ready, I made bacon and eggs, and I whipped up some hollandaise sauce for you, too!"

Jo felt a rush of sadness, and joy at seeing her mother, although she didn't know why. There was a vague echo of a memory of last night's dream, but she couldn't place any of it properly.

"Thank you," she said, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just a bad dream."

"Alright. I'll see you in the dining room," her mum said with a smile.

Jo nodded back, and looked around the room again. She was safe, and it was ok.

_'Just a bad dream,' _she told herself.

* * *

Scott sat in the lab, staring down at the chamber, Joanne stuck inside. He had tears streaming down his face, which he felt kinda dumb about.

"She's fine," Tony assured him. "Back in her own world."

"And that's it?" Scott asked.

"She won't wake up again, no. The machine will stay on until the simulation is complete."

"And then what?" He looked up at Tony. "What will you do with her?"

"We've got at least two years to decide, before anything happens to the simulation. Natasha was suggesting using her as a spy, but it brings up a lot of ethical questions, and no-one could decide on what an ethical use of her would be."

Scott wanted to debate Tony, tell him that this was all wrong, that everything was wrong, and she should have been treated with respect from the get-go. It was just a bit too much for him, though, and he felt himself getting choked up.

"They said they'd take her, though. They _want _to take her. Can't you revive her?" Scott asked.

"I made a lot of promises I can't keep, like getting her an ID, and taking a tracker out. Even if the Guardians boot her back up once they're in space, she'll ask for that stuff," Tony said.

"They could deal with it, though," Scott said. "They won't be happy with you."

"I'll give you a moment, but know that if anything it removed or done without me, it'll all crash, unrepairable," Tony said, before walking out of the room.

Scott sat there and looked down at the young woman. He just hoped her life would be better than this one.

* * *

The Guardians stood in front of the chamber.

"I mean, we can still take her," Quill said. "I know a guy who can help us. He can hook you up to the machine, and her memories, and get into it."

Valkyrie nodded. "Yeah, we could insert ourselves into her life, see if she remembers, and if she wants, we can get her back."

"Consent wasn't an issue with Stark, so why is it with us?" Rocket asked.

"I am Groot," Groot said.

Quill nodded. "Damn straight, Groot. We're not dicks."

They all looked over at Tony, standing beside them, not looking too pleased.

"No offence," Valkyrie said.

He raised an eyebrow and looked down at Joanne.

"Regardless of what you can do, I don't know if I'm ok with you stealing my technology."

"It's not stealing if you give it to us," Rocket said. "But I can steal it, too."

"No, Rocket, Stark's right," Quill paused and looked at the ground. "We shouldn't take him if he doesn't want us to."

* * *

It took a while for Jo to get over the bad dream. It just lingered on her like a bad smell, affecting her mood every day.

Slowly, after a few months, she started to feel better, not wanting to cry every time she received a hug.

She was in a restaurant, sitting with a first date, who wouldn't stop talking about the new Jurassic Park movie. Like, yeah, it was pretty mediocre at best, and she totally understood that her date loves dinosaurs, but it was getting a bit much. There was no second date on the table at this stage.

From behind her date, she caught the eye of an attractive woman who was having dinner with a man. The man turned and looked at her as well, and Jo frowned. Their faces were familiar, she just couldn't place them.

She had a lingering feeling of hopelessness and betrayal, the smallest of feelings, yet present.

"And don't get me started on the velociraptor!" Joanne's date said, before getting started on velociraptors.

The couple looked away, and Jo did her best to, as well, but the familiarity and the feelings were playing on her mind.

Who on earth were they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Let me know with a comment or kudos.


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